The National Rifle Association has scored a big court victory in its fight with the administration over President Joe Biden’s push to target and punish owners of millions of AR-15-style “pistols.”
Late last week, a federal district court in Texas ruled that the gun group’s 4 million members do not have to comply with an order from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to register, modify, or destroy their firearms.
The decision followed other court rulings protecting the 3.7 million members of three other gun groups from the ATF action that abruptly changed the definition of rifles to include the AR pistols, among the most popular firearms in the country. Under the new rules, they will be taxed and registered.
“This is a major victory for the NRA, its members, and all who believe in Second Amendment freedom,” NRA President Charles Cotton said. “From day one, we vowed to fight back against President Biden and his rogue regulators — and to defeat this unlawful measure.”
Stephen Gutowski, the founding editor of The Reload, told Secrets that “The ruling provides another layer of protection to NRA members as the legal fight over the pistol brace ban continues.”
All those fighting the ATF rule — the NRA, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America — expect the case to end up at the Supreme Court, which is already reviewing other ATF rules.
Gutowski said the high court’s decisions on a bump stock ban and “ghost guns” should indicate what may happen in the pistol brace fight.
A federal appeals court recently said that the ATF ruling on adjustable pistol brace stocks on the shorter barrelled AR rifles was unlawful. The ATF appealed.
For years, the agency said the brace was legal but changed its mind due to pressure from the Biden White House to classify the weapons as regulated short-barrelled rifles under the Al Capone era National Firearms Act that targeted concealable machine guns.
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It gave owners a few months to register the firearms, dismantle the brace, or destroy the weapons. Only a tiny percentage of the owners complied and registered their guns. Millions are now waiting on the Supreme Court before deciding what to do.
While just a handful of the firearms have been used in deadly shootings, the administration has made so-called assault weapons its top target in its war on the NRA and guns in general.